USN59-79

Thanks @aliaschief for the link to the covid tests. Looks like HAL will require them 3 days before boarding the Westerdam in March. We arrive in Japan 4 days before the cruise, so these will be useful. Saw the orthopedic doctor this morning and got a new set of x-rays of the load bearing bone with me standing. Everything looks good; I see him again in 4 weeks. I am finally getting used to my DW driving. We went all the way to the hospital and back without one negative comment from me.😦 Ray

We are having some cool, but fairly nice weather here. No rain or snow forecasted for a week. I have medical appointments for the next three days and will take Jacqui's @kazu advice and let Sara do the driving. We lived in the Philippines from 1973 to 1976 at the Naval Air Station Cubi Point where I was the ground electronics officer. This was when the Vietnam war wound down the Navy base there and at Subic Bay was receiving and processing refugees and sending them onward to Guam and the U.S. Many of the first refugees were Chinese and Sara volunteered to help as an interpreter at the refugee center on Grande Island. Saw some interesting things like a single seat fighter plane arrive from Vietnam with the pilot, his wife and three children aboard. Prior to that time our ship stopped many times at Subic Bay. Once we chartered a bus to visit the San Miguel Brewery in Manila. We lined up to see if we could drink the beer as fast as they made it. We could, for maybe 20 seconds. We stopped in Manila in 2018 on the Coral Princess. I will see if I can post a couple of pictures:

Today I wanted to see if I could drive myself wearing the "boot". Adjusted the seat all the way back and sat in the car in the garage and it seemed that I could touch the gas pedal without hitting the brake. We were going to the Navy Base so I could get a much needed haircut. Backed out of the garage, went down our driveway and down the hill to the main road and once on the flat road the car wouldn't accelerate. The boot is too wide. So I stopped and Sara drove us to the base. Plan B was to see if my old Vietnam jungle boots still fit as the laced up canvas uppers would act similar to the boot. Took them down from a shelf in the garage, cleaned them up and tried one of them on. In 1970 I wore a size 9 shoe Now it is a ten so they won't fit. Plan C is to see if I can drive Sara's Lexus or my SUV. Plan D is to drive with a normal shoe and change to the boot when I get there. Watched most of the Army Navy game today. A good game, not a good ending. Ray

Obviously HAL would rather sell its coffee than give it away and I would prefer not to buy it if I don't have to. What do you ask for if you want a cup of coffee with your dessert in the MDR and all you want is a cup of regular coffee with cream?

Thanks for all the concerns about my fracture. I saw the orthopedic doctor this morning and of course he had about ten more x-rays taken. The good news is that there is no change from Wednesday. I will see him again next Thursday. The only surprise was that he wants me to wear the boot even while sleeping at night. He said I could cover it with a plastic bag when showering, but that isn't an option as my trousers won't slide over it. I have a copy of the x-ray and not being a doctor, I would call it a crack more than a fracture. It will slow down my activities for maybe a month; however, our next cruise isn't until March. Ray

Not a bad day here in the Pacific NW. Had some rain last night that washed away most of the snow on the ground. On Sunday I was walking outside and slipped on some ice. Twisted my right ankle and it was very painful at the time, but not as bad by yesterday. We were going to go to some Asian markets in Seattle for grocery shopping, but first DW wanted to stop at the Navy Hospital to pick up and renew some prescriptions. As long as we were there I decided to stop at Urgent Care to let them look at my ankle which was pretty black and blue. Took a bunch of x-rays and was surprised to find the fibula was broken. They fitted a splint to it and I will return to see an orthopedic doctor on Friday. With the splint strapped tight there is less pain, so I can walk around OK with a home made cane. Urgent Care took about three hours, so we skipped the trip to Seattle. I have heard that our bones are more brittle as we age, so this is probably an example of that. Ray

It is not clear what your problem is. Obviously if you were able to post here you are able to post to a Roll Call. If you mention what ship you are on 1-23 March, we could help you find the roll call for that cruise.

I am surprised that HAL would promise to mail the tiles they owe you and then tell you that they have them aboard their ships, so you have to book another cruise and ask a crew member for them. I would tell them, thanks, but no thanks.

Once met a dentist on the Amsterdam who mentioned that he had a free cabin for providing dental services to the crew. I believe he only practiced on sea days. I have learned that just because dental care is offered in other countries doesn't mean that it is inferior to what we receive here in the U.S. I had a minor gum infection before my DW and I planned to spend a few weeks in Taiwan. Talked to my regular dentist and decided to take care of it when we returned. The cost was to about $1K. It got worse when we were in Taipei, so I stopped at a dentist close to my DBIL's house. No appointment needed, just a wait of about 20 minutes to see the dentist. He found that the problem was caused by improper cleaning below the gum line. He did a proper cleaning, the problem disappeared, and the cost was roughly $30.

I understand that May flights may be much different than current flights. However, for the last few weeks when our local news discusses flight delays and cancellations at SeaTac airport, if there are 60 flight cancellations 50 of them are Alaska Airlines. Not sure what their problems are, but I would avoid booking them if something else was available.

Well, I shoveled a path down our driveway, waited for the sun to melt the ice, and went to p/u our mail. Unfortunately, the mail man didn't come by today. Looking on the bright side, our weather is like Summer compared to our neighbor North of us, like @HAL4NOW. And the other bright side, at 83 I can still shovel snow. A couple of pictures:

A check in from Washington State. We got about 5 or 6 inches of snow last night, so I may have to shovel a path down our driveway if I want to get our mail. We have only been to Iceland when we took their airline on a flight to Europe. Someone once told me that Greenland and Iceland were miss-named. Greenland is covered in ice and Iceland is green. Spent some time online yesterday looking at a dozen hotels in Yokohama and ended up booking the one we stayed at the last time we were there. We will be there four days before we embark the Westerdam in March. Ray

It is interesting that although the Westerdam will stop in Korea this March and April, HAL doesn't say a word about the K-ETA on its website or on our cruise documentation. A Canadian person on the March 13 Roll Call says his TA talked to Lisa in HAL Documentation Dept. and was told that the K-ETA was used for air travel and not required for cruise ships. I called HAL today and got an email from Felipe in the same department and was told that it is required, the cost is less than 10 USD per person and given a link to apply. So two CC members contacted two HAL employees in the same department and got two entirely different answers. Think I will wait a couple of months and see what the answer is then.

The furniture is nice, but I would think twice about the ottoman as a cocktail/coffee table. Imagine the hassle if a drink or food were to spill in it's less than flat surface. Ray

We sailed on the Statendam in 2004 and 2006 and it was obviously not the ship the OP mentioned.

No, actually it looks like the page to start making reservations for specialty dining. I think you already know how to set up your MDR dining when you check aboard.

We are scheduled for S. Korea this April on the Westerdam. I plan to wait until at least February before I will look into ETA or visa requirements. I think the odds are that they will not be required at that time for U.S. citizens on a cruise.

Bringing up cider again brings up memories of the British Navy China Fleet Club in Hong Kong in 1959 and 60. I learned to drink Bulmer's Woodpecker Cider there. We sometimes drank so much that we fell off of our bar stool, but we never had a headache the next day. Perhaps Graham knows if it is still sold in Great Britain. Ray

Another cool, crisp day here with blue skies. Next week it will be warmer, with clouds and rain for awhile. Not sure if apple juice qualifies as apple cider as I think cider means it is fermented and has some alcohol in it. Anyway, we usually have apple juice and guava juice in the refrigerator and I like it two thirds apple and one third guava. Yesterday I took my car (Prius Prime) to the dealer for a free oil change and checkup courtesy of Veteran's Day. Was pleasantly surprised they found nothing that they could charge me for and even gave me a coupon for a free car wash. I actually like canned sardines. Eat them fresh from the can on toast. We will stop in Kushiro in Northern Japan this April on our way from Yokohama to Seattle on the Westerdam. Ray

I want to thank you for taking the time to insert that clarinet concerto. I just spent the time to watch it while sipping some inexpensive red wine. While it was great on my computer monitor with my computer speakers, it has inspired me to install perhaps a sound bar or some better speakers to my LG TV and figure out how to watch and hear more music like that. While I appreciate your expertise on wine things, I now know that you can be counted on to advise us on music things. Hope we could meet up sometime on a long cruise. Ray

Not sure that this is always true. In 2009 we booked a 49 day cruise from Ft Lauderdale to San Francisco around South America on the Carnival Splendor. Visas were required for Brazil, but Carnival didn't make it clear that they were needed. As a result, about 100 passengers showed up and were not allowed to board in Ft Lauderdale. They went to Miami and got the visa and joined the ship 3 days later in Dominica. Luckily we got our visas at the last minute and boarded in Ft Lauderdale. If you pay attention you will always see passengers embarking and debarking at different ports. How do you think the entertainers get on and off the ship on a long cruise? Ray

We visited Cobh/Cork a few years ago. Liked how handy it is that you can board a train to the city right at the cruise terminal. Have a nagging question, though. I assume that Cobh is the Gaelic way to spell Cork. Are both words pronounced the same? Ray

Retired Navy Master Chief Electronics Technician after 20 years. Spent 6 years as a temporary Warrant Officer during the Vietnam era. Have cruised enough to be 5-star on Holland America and Elite on Princess. Was last on the Westerdam when we all had to disembark in Cambodia in February 2020 due to Covid. Our next cruise will be on the same ship for 42 days starting in March of next year. We will celebrate our 60th wedding anniversary on that cruise.

I was in Fukuoka the first time in 1960. I was on a ship at Yokosuka and had to go home on emergency leave. Took a train to Fukuoka and at the time there was Itazuki AFB there where I was able to fly home. It was an interesting train ride. At that time there were a lot of protests in Japan about U.S. nuclear ships. I was wearing my Navy uniform and when the train stopped at a small city a lot of men boarded wearing clothing with some type of Japanese emblems on them. One of the leaders of the group decided to sit next to me. I thought sure there was going to be a "situation" as I was the lone American on the train. Come to find out, he wanted to sit next to me because he wanted to practice his English and the emblems they were wearing represented their factory. They were all going to a factory sponsored outing. Incidentally, Itazuke AFB was turned over to Japan in 1971 and is now the Fukuoka Airport. Ray

Thanks @sailingdutchy for the Fukuoka pictures. They were worth seeing twice. The Westerdam is scheduled to stop there on 14 April. Fukuoka is famous for Hakata dolls. I know we were there because we have three of them. Here is one: